Wildfires can be especially devastating for low-income families, often leaving them with long, difficult paths to recovery. That has been true for single mother Dia James, 36, and her 12-year-old son Dichar, who are still struggling to rebuild their lives almost six years after their rental in Calabasas, California, burned down during the Woolsey Fire. The devastation of the fire was later compounded by the pandemic, which made it impossible for James to work, and to find a new rental unit in an already strained housing market.
Climate experts say the U.S. can expect more destructive fires across the Western U.S. in the future. Disaster experts stress that states should develop strategies to mitigate the impact of wildfires and other climate-related events on people like James and her son, who lacked the financial resources needed to recover after their home was destroyed. But that help may not be coming soon. A bill that would have established pilot programs in vulnerable communities aimed at expanding insurance options and mitigating climate risks was vetoed last year by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who cited the budget shortfall. James has instead relied on the state’s social safety net, which, after years of uncertainty, has finally provided her and Dichar with some semblance of stability.
On a windy, dry November day in 2018, James received news that a wildfire was approaching her neighborhood. She rushed home to the cream-colored, two-story Calabasas house where she rented a room. James only had time to grab a few armfuls of belongings before her home — and her livelihood as a hairstylist — went up in flames. The fire destroyed thousands of dollars’ worth of blow dryers, hair irons and hair products, she said. She continued to work at hair salons for a time, but the loss of her tools meant she had to give up a celebrity clientele that had included models and musicians. It was work she loved.
One setback then led to another. She and Dichar, who is autistic, moved to a nearby condo owned by her former housemate’s family. Several months later, James’ mother passed away from a heart attack in the U.S. Virgin Islands. When she returned to Los Angeles some months later, she said her housemates told her that she and Dichar would have to leave because the condo was too small.
James was upset but didn’t argue. She moved an hour north to Palmdale, where she set up shop in a new hair salon. Then COVID-19 hit and, due to social distancing requirements, James lost her ability to work and bring in income to pay rent. James said she filled out forms, provided by the landlord, to enable her to access pandemic-era assistance for renters. But James said her Palmdale landlord turned off her power, and forced the pair to leave their unit in spite of eviction protections in place during the pandemic. The landlord told her their room was needed to host extended family from abroad. James and Dichar had no other option but to go to a shelter for unhoused families in Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley.
That move was a turning point for James. At the shelter, she was able to enroll in the state’s anti-poverty program California Work Opportunities and Responsibility to Kids (CalWorks), which provided child care and mental health counseling. Last year the two moved into a government-subsidized one-bedroom apartment in Northridge.
James’ troubles began in a particularly deadly and disruptive year for wildfire-prone California. The Woolsey Fire in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, which displaced her, started on the same day in 2018 as the deadly Camp Fire in Northern California. Both fires are linked to utility equipment failures and the year was one of the worst in California wildfire history. One hundred people died and 24,226 structures were lost that year, according to CalFire.
Matt Plotkin is director of equity and advocacy for United Way of Northern California. His nonprofit has assisted more than 9,000 households affected by wildfires since 2018. He said wildfires typically impact rural and frontier areas with high concentrations of low-income residents. A third of Camp Fire victims were renters, he said. Nationwide, Black, Hispanic and Native American communities were more vulnerable to wildfires, according to a 2018 study by researchers at the University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy.
With California lacking enough affordable housing, low-income fire victims can easily be pushed into homelessness, according to a 2023 University of California, San Francisco, study. “It’s very hard to put your life back together unless you come into that disaster with a lot of resources,” said Michael Wara, who directs the climate and energy policy program for the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University.
A publicly funded insurance program targeted to low-income residents of fire-prone areas could make a big difference to wildfire survivors, said Wara, who formerly served as a California wildfire commissioner. If residents lost their homes, they would be able to quickly access a recovery fund of, for example, $10,000 or more, he added. The bill vetoed last year by the governor — and sponsored by the California Department of Insurance — proposed such a program.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency offers assistance for survivors, but there’s a “gap” in support for renters, compared to property owners, Plotkin said. Federal aid is “typically very little and often delayed,” said Carolyn Kousky, associate vice president for economics and policy analysis at nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund, headquartered in New York. This year, FEMA expanded and streamlined survivor assistance to make it more accessible, said agency spokesperson Jayce Genco.
Disaster experts also emphasize the importance of renters insurance for those who aren’t property owners. Some renters “have no idea that renters insurance even exists,” Plotkin said.
Better insurance for those living in fire-prone areas is not the only answer. “It is also critical that we put our affordable housing in safe areas — and areas that will continue to be safe as climate change increases the risk of many disasters,” Kousky said.
Meanwhile, James and her son, Dichar, are looking toward the future. With the help of financial support from CalWorks, James recently completed two years of community college classes. She has since been awarded a scholarship that allowed her to transfer to the University of California, Los Angeles, to major in psychology.
The only hair James cuts these days is Dichar’s. “I don’t do hair — I lost my passion,” Dia said. Therapy helped Dia cope with the trauma from the fire and the pandemic, her mother’s death and being forced from her home three times. For now, Dia and Dichar enjoy the one-bedroom apartment that is their home. “I had a lot of generous people who helped” to get this housing, she said with a smile.
